Wills, Probate, and Inheritance Tax For Dummies, UK Edition

Planning how to pass your estate on doesn’t have to mean complications, legal jargon and huge bills. Wills, Probate and Inheritance Tax For Dummies, 2nd Edition takes you through the process step-by-step and gives you all the information you need to ensure that your affairs are left in good order. It shows you how to plan and write your will, minimise the stress of probate, and ensure that your nearest and dearest are protected from a large inheritance tax bill.

Discover how to:

• Decide if a will is right for you
• Value your assets
• Leave your home through a will
• Appoint executors and trustees
• Choose beneficiaries
• Draw up a DIY will
• Work out how inheritance tax works and if you’re liable to it
• Find out what can and can’t be taxed
  

Introduction 1

Part I: Planning Your Will 7

Chapter 1: Preparing for the Inevitable 9

Chapter 2: Recognising the Benefits of Making a Will 19

Chapter 3: Totting Up the Value of Your Estate 35

Chapter 4: Deciding Who Gets What 51

Chapter 5: Leaving Your Home in Your Will 63

Part II: Writing Your Will 75

Chapter 6: Choosing the Right People to Follow Your Wishes 77

Chapter 7: Getting It in Writing: Drawing Up Your Will 93

Chapter 8: Fine-Tuning Your Will 103

Chapter 9: Ringing the Changes: When and How to Change a Will 119

Chapter 10: Making Clear Your Funeral Wishes 135

Part III: Managing Probate 143

Chapter 11: What To Do When Someone Dies 145

Chapter 12: Pro-what? The Basics of the Probate Process 153

Chapter 13: Dealing with the Estate: First Steps 163

Chapter 14: Distributing the Estate 175

Part IV: Taxing Times: Inheritance Planning 197

Chapter 15: Introducing Inheritance Tax 199

Chapter 16: Simple Steps to Reduce Inheritance Tax 207

Chapter 17: Rolling Out the Big Guns: Understanding Trusts 223

Chapter 18: Using Trusts to Help Your Family 241

Chapter 19: Taking Care of Business: Inheritance Tax and Your Firm 251

Part V: The Part of Tens 261

Chapter 20: Ten Items to Keep with Your Will 263

Chapter 21: Ten Problem Wills to Avoid 269

Chapter 22: Ten Tips for Getting Your Estate into Tax-Saving Shape 275

Appendix 283

Index 287

Julian Knight is the Money Editor at The Independent on Sunday. Previously he worked as a personal finance reporter for BBC News, writing regularly for the BBC News website and contributing to Radio Five Live. Julian has written about personal finance for a variety of magazines, national newspapers and websites. He is the author of Retiring Wealthy For Dummies and The British Citizenship Test For Dummies.

Includes advice on how to write your own will

Get your financial affairs in order and minimise inheritance tax

Planning and writing your own will doesn't have to be a nightmare of expense and confusion. This jargon-free book gives you all the information you need to write a legally binding will and organise your estate properly. Covering all angles of inheritance, from taking care of your own affairs to administering probate for the first time, this reassuring guide helps you to minimise stress and keep your family's tax bill down.

Julian Knight is the Personal Finance Editor at The Independent on Sunday. He previously worked as a personal finance reporter for BBC News.

THE DUMMIES WAY

Explanations in plain English
'Get in, get out' information
Icons and other navigational aids
Online cheat sheet
Top ten lists
A dash of humor and fun

Discover how to:

Help your family pay less inheritance tax
Make the right probate choices
Set up a trust for your children
Troubleshoot and change your will
Decide when you need to call an expert

Get Smart!@www.dummies.com

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